Frequently asked questions

Quite a lot! I can research a family line for you, help solve a particular mystery, organize what you already have, or simply be a fresh set of eyes when you feel stuck. If you would rather work alongside me, I also offer one-on-one collaboration and coaching.

Absolutely—you do not have to start over. We can look together at your tree, documents, notes, and earlier conclusions, sort out what is solid and what still needs attention, and decide on the most useful next step.

Gosh, no! Not everything is online, despite what the internet may lead us to believe. I use major genealogy databases and less familiar specialized collections, but I am also perfectly at home in archives, libraries, courthouses, cemeteries, and other repositories when that is where the clues lead.

Maybe! My deepest experience is in the southeastern United States—especially North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee—but my work has taken me across many states and into other countries. Tell me what you are hoping to learn. If I am not the right person, I will say so and help point you toward someone who is.

Often, yes. Immigrants frequently left more of a paper trail than families realize. Passenger lists, naturalization papers, census records, church records, and other clues may help us follow their journey and discover where they came from.

No. I know reunions can be deeply meaningful, but because of privacy concerns I do not conduct research intended to locate living people.

I want you to understand both what I found and how I reached my conclusions. Depending on the project, you may receive a documented family tree, copies or images of records, source citations, a research report or findings summary, and practical suggestions for where the search could go next.

Every family question is different, so fees and timing depend on what you would like to learn, which records may be needed, and my current schedule. We will start with a complimentary 30-minute conversation—no pressure and no need to have everything figured out. I will listen, give you an honest assessment, and suggest a sensible place to begin. Travel, record-ordering, and copying expenses may be additional.